Previously Published Robotech News Story #1

Volume 3, No.1

Editorial Note: The following story is about a project that is no longer in production, for reasons that will be explained in the 2nd and 3rd Robotech news stories. The purpose of re-posting these stories is to transfer them to the new website design.

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Robotech Genesis: Project Looks Promising

- By Ramón Bannister

Disclaimer: The images used in this story were first published with the permission of U.E.G. Productions. U.E.G. Productions was sent a cease and desist order from the copyright holder of the Robotech name and franchise. Therefore, Kena Cubed™ has decided to delete the graphics associated with this story.

It was 1985 when an action-packed, drama-filled Japanese-style animation was first brought to American television sets. Robotech was an alien technology used for war in space and our planet Earth, against three different technologically superior alien races. It was so popular when it was first released, other animators joined the bandwagon, such as both versions of Voltron (spaceships and lions) and the Thunder Cats. But Robotech abruptly ended when, according to one source, toy maker Matchbox stopped making Robotech toys due to the devaluation of the Japanese Yen. Since then there have been attempts to revive the Robotech series. Most have failed due to lack of funding and bad fan reviews of the trailers.

But every now and then there is a rumor of a new project underway. And every once in a while an actual project is successfully produced and distributed, such as the excellent feature-length film produced in 2006, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles , available on Amazon.com. While more rumors circulate about a film of which Tobey Maguire is one of the producers, hundreds of thousands if not millions of fans are waiting for the next big Robotech adventure.

There has recently been a lot of hype on Facebook surrounding one fan-based, non-profit Robotech project. U.E.G. (United Earth Group) Productions, led by director Nenad Petrovic, shows much promise. The production company posts screen shots, animated trailers and announcements via YouTube (seen at right), Facebook and Twitter, as well as on the U.E.G. website. There is even a Latin American fan group on Facebook, Robotech Fanaticos, that helps its members keep abreast of these updates. It was through this fan page that I learned of the U.E.G. Facebook page and of the project, Robotech Genesis. And this is an international project, in that U.E.G. staff members from all over the world are involved, including a Hindu music composer.

What makes the idea behind Robotech Genesis interesting is that the plot is purported to be a sort of prequel. It will not continue where the 1980s series left off, but begin before the original series plot. The story of Zor will be fleshed out. Zor is the creator of the high energy source, protoculture, and is known as one of the Robotech Masters, a supreme, highly intelligent and dangerous alien race. U.E.G. Productions will continue the Genesis series so that the plot is intertwined with the beginning of the original series, The Macross Saga.

As of press time, U.E.G. Productions plans to release Episode 1 of its Genesis project for free download from its website. It will also be available for free on YouTube. U.E.G. has not reached an agreement with any other company, including the original distributor of the Robotech series, Harmony Gold. However, some original staff members of the 1980s Robotech series are in contact with U.E.G. Productions.

Kena Cubed™ hopes to have a sneak preview of Episode 1, so stay tuned for future developments to be published here.

But I just couldn’t wait for the episode, and I wanted to get more details about this exciting Robotech Genesis series. So, I contacted and interviewed Pablo Dalmazzo, an Argentinian man involved with the project.

RB: Who is U.E.G. Productions?

PD: U.E.G. Productions is made up of a group of people who are from different countries and who produce animation together. There are people from Europe, South America, North America and Asia.

RB: Why produce Robotech again after all these years?

PD: Because we are all Robotech fans, and many of us are very deeply interested in Robotech, to the point of meeting live online and/or live writers, producers, artists, actors etc. We know we have changed certain aspects of the direction of Robotech in these last years too; even though we aren’t involved with official productions in any way, we see the effects this project has.

RB: Explain the excitement the U.E.G. staff has w/ doing the project?

PD: Well, let’s say we have spent no less than 30,000 hours for this for free. I guess that has to mean something. It’s not about the money, but it means many of us have got into trouble in their paid jobs and personal lives for this project – I personally know that!

RB: What is the plan? Will the plot take over from where the original series began? Will it be a re-make? Or will it be a new plot line w/ new characters?

PD: The plan is to take Robotech back to the original series. In the last 10 years the idea was that Robotech had to move away from the series, either to avoid continuity issues or to avoid problems with fans from the Japanese franchises, which created the Robotech animation in the ‘80s (Robotech was created using the animation of 3 Japanese companies) . But the story will begin before the Robotech series by telling the story of Zor, the creator of Protoculture and Robotechnology, and it will continue by retelling events of the 1st Robotech saga.

RB: How did the project get started?

PD: The project started with the director Nenad Petrovic who wanted to create a website for promoting the creation of a Robotech story he had in mind. During those times, he met Michel Scherhage, who is one of the current writers and site maintainers. Shortly after they met, I joined the team. By that time I knew a lot of Robotech fans, mainly from China, Chile and Argentina, and I wanted to be involved in the project.

Nenad had named the project, “Robotech The Macross Saga.” I talked to him and I told him that it wasn’t convenient to make a remake of the Macross Saga because there were a lot of projects doing the same thing. Besides, Robotech needed to tell the untold parts of the Robotech series. Then he told me the project had an introduction telling the events prior to the saga. Eventually, he changed the project name to “Robotech Genesis.” The story concept has been chosen by Petrovic, either from his ideas or from ideas given by U.E.G. Production staff.

RB: Who’s funding the project?

PD: Our own creative spirits. We don’t have a sponsor for this project and we wouldn’t take one unless the project becomes an official project.

RB: What are some of the technology enhancements from the 1980s?

PD: This is completely computer-generated animation. Even the character animation, which is unusual. It’s being done in real high definition1080p. Personally, and this is my own opinion and not necessarily U.E.G., I think this project has one scene where we can see the best Robotech animation done up to today.

RB: Wow, that sounds great. Robotech in 1080p! No way! Did you have to get permission from the original distributor, Harmony Gold, to do the project?

PD: Since this is a non-profit, fan-based project, no. This is no different from the thousands (millions?) of Robotech fan projects out there. Harmony Gold encourages the creation of different kinds of fan projects from its official website, which includes fan art, fan fic, fan animations, and fan models, and we are in that boat . Besides, this project is known by different Harmony Gold employees from the year it started, with whom we have had direct and indirect contact.

RB: Do you have business agreements with any official Robotech entity, such as robotech.com, toy manufacturers, or the producers of the most recent movie, “Shadow Chronicles”?

PD: No, we don’t.

RB: When I first heard about your project, my first assumption was that it would be expensive for us fans. How will the series be available? Internet? YouTube? Facebook? The U.E.G. website via subscription?

PD: It will be available on our website as downloable files you can burn to dvds. It also will be in file sharing programs. The video will be posted on Youtube and Facebook, but there you won’t be able to fully appreciate the animation. The best way to watch and enjoy our 1 st episode is to download the files onto DVD or your computer, where you’ll be able to benefit from 1080p high definition.